Deadpool Dies in His 250th Issue

The Merc with a Mouth is no more. In today’s Deadpool #45 by writers Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn and artist Mike Hawthorne, marketed as the 250th Deadpool issue, Deadpool died when two alternate universe Earths smashed together. What a way to go.

For those following Marvel’s Avengers and New Avengers comics by Jonathan Hickman, this will come as no surprise. The heroes in those comics have been faced with a dilemma where parallel Earths are colliding with one another, resulting in the end of each Earth’s universe. They have avoided destruction thus far, but we already know that they will fail to stop the main 616 Marvel Universe from crashing into the Ultimate Marvel Universe, which will kick off Marvel’s big Secret Wars summer event. This is our first look at that incident, making Deadpool the first superhero casualty of Secret Wars.

Marvel has made it no secret that Deadpool will be dying in today's issue, so the question hasn't been if he will die, but how.

The ending was part of a big fake-out that unfolded over the course of the issue. Deadpool and his friends were marked for death by the new Flag Smasher and his ULTIMATUM goons, so we thought that he would go out in a blaze of glory protecting them, but as the story unfolded, most of his friends did a fine job of protecting themselves, leaving Deadpool to clean up by killing Flag Smasher and his cronies in an extended, bloody action sequence.

This left us with a seemingly happy ending. Deadpool and company were enjoying their celebration on a yacht when suddenly the sky lit up and they were all incinerated by the collision with the Ultimate Earth.

Deadpool had been struggling with his identity the past few issues, wondering if he was better off as the kind-hearted Zenpool rather than the crazy assassin ninja. But in his final moments, his loved ones helped him realize that they want him to be who he is, and so as he died, he was at peace knowing he was safe in their love.

The last big Deadpool event was his wedding in Deadpool #27, where he married the succubus Shiklah. She wasn’t present on the yacht, and last time we saw her she was raising an undead army, so her whereabouts are currently unknown.

Deadpool does appear to be dead for the time being, but of course comic book characters rarely stay that way, so don’t get too upset by his passing. He will take part in Secret Wars in a comic called Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars, which shows his involvement in the original 1984 Secret Wars. So while he won’t be involved in the current event, you’ll still be able to get your Deadpool fix in the months to come.

Deadpool dying also feeds into the theory that Marvel Comics is shutting out X-Men characters in order to spite Fox, who owns the movie rights to those characters. Seeing how Wolverine also died last year, Deadpool's death only adds fuel to the fire.

Rest in peace, Wade Wilson. May your afterlife be filled with many, many chimichangas.